The Body In The Crypt
by xXMoonyeenXx
Summary: When a body is found in a crypt the Jeffersonian team face their most difficult case yet as they come up against a mind as twisted as it is clever. Will it's conclusion lead to death or love for the team?
1. Prologue

**I hit a major brick wall on my other Bones story but this is one I have been working on for a while and have decided to start posting. The updates will come ever week, so I hope you enjoy the story.**

**

* * *

**

In the absolute stillness of night which is only truly afforded after midnight, especially within a cemetery, one, solitary human being was out and about. The individual was dressed head to toe in black with not one piece of skin showing using a ski mask to cover their face and leather gloves on their hands. They gingerly made their way through the cemetery, knowing that even a small noise could carry in the dead silence of the night.

Tonight was the night chosen many months ago when the plan was put into motion, there was a full moon which allowed enough light to fall upon the area so that a flashlight was not required but it did mean that if anyone happened to be in the vicinity they would see the figure meandering seemingly without a purpose through the cemetery. The one thing the individual had not taken into account during their planning was the light mist which had begun to descend an hour ago, however the image and ambience this created just caused them to smile with the inherent spookiness of being in a cemetery, alone, on a dark, mist ridden night. _Can someone say horror movie?_ The solitary figure thought to themselves as they weaved through the intermittent headstones.

A light breeze rustled the leaves on the nearby trees, and an owl hooted somewhere off in the distance, causing the form to jump in surprise and shock hitting their wrist on a headstone in the process. Rotating the wrist to check the range of motion and ensuring that there was no injury which would deter the plan the being had taken pains to perfect. With a smile at the lack of pain the individual chuckled under their breath at their own jumpiness, _maybe I am not as immune to the horror movies as I thought,_ they contemplated before moving on as silently as before the owl interrupted.

The shadow glanced around to make sure they were still alone before reaching out a gloved hand and pushing open the heavy wooden door in front of them. As the door swung inwards it creaked loudly in the silent night causing the individual to wince at the sound, swinging their gaze to the surrounding area they unnecessarily checked that they were still alone and that the noise hadn't attracted the attention of anyone who may be wandering through the vicinity.

_Who in their right mind would be creeping in a cemetery in the dead of night? _The silhouette thought somewhat ironically, after all that was exactly what they were doing. The smile returned at the turn of their thoughts the person moved quietly into the building the door opened into, pushing the door slowly as far back as it would go the individual reached out with their left foot and manoeuvred a stone they had carefully positioned earlier in the week.

Once positive that the stone was in position and the door wouldn't swing shut of its own accord the individual reached into the pocket of their dark jacket and pulled out a small torch. Flicking it on the person aimed the beam into the building revealing the structure piece by piece, even though they already knew the layout off by heart. Scanning the small room the individual took note of the niches in the wall, each containing an urn of some description. In the centre of the construction was a stone table, table used in the loosest sense of the word because it was in actual fact simply a stone block which was used to place either the remains of a recently cremated person before internment in a niche alongside their long dead ancestors, or the coffin of one being buried.

Nodding at the apparent disuse of the crypt, and the fact that nothing had changed in the time the shadow had been watching and studying the cemetery and this crypt in particular. The smile on the individual's face grew exponentially to the point where it should have hurt the facial muscles, keeping the smile fixed in place the entity turned and walked out of the crypt switching off the torch as they did so.

_No need to add to the risk of anyone seeing me._ They thought to themselves as they headed towards the entrance to the cemetery less than 300 yards from the chosen crypt. Just before the entrance the shadow veered off to the right and into the woods which obscured part of the cemetery from the view of the road running alongside it. It was in here that they had left a sports bag, earlier in the week which without looking in it appeared to be innocuous. Reaching the well hidden bush, the shadow reached behind it and grabbed hold of the handle and with a small tug the bag lifted easily from its hiding place, turning the shadow walked quickly back to the crypt glancing around every once in a while.

Upon reaching the crypt the shadow reached back into their jacket pocket and grabbed the flashlight switching it on and placing in their mouth to illuminate the stone table. Placing the bag on the floor the figure bent down and unzipped it before reaching their dark, glove clad hands inside and pulling something out cradled in both hands.


	2. Chapter 1

**Here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone who is recognizable from Bones, so those characters we all love best.**

**

* * *

**

"Booth why am I here?" Brennan asked irritably as she climbed out of her blue Toyota, sun glasses in place protecting her eyes from the glare of the sun through her windshield as it fought to burn off the mist from the previous night.

"Well Bones why would I usually call you to a place as wonderful as this?" Booth responded as he walked through the head stones towards his partner. He worked his charm smile into place as he opened his arms wide indicating their current surroundings.

"Booth this is a cemetery, you have never called me somewhere like this before," came the response as the anthropologist slung her canvas bag across her body, refusing to even look at Booth. Ever since the day they had spilled the truth about their first case to Sweet's, Brennan had began to feel decidedly more confused around Booth and she wasn't completely aware of why. Before they had had the opportunity to deal with it though, they had both gone their separate ways for almost a year, spending the time apart on opposite sides of the world.

"Okay Bones way too literal there, we have a body in a crypt." Booth explained watching as his partner slammed her car door and glanced quickly at him incredulously.

"Booth this is a cemetery, there are bodies everywhere. So again I ask why am I here?"

_Wow she is touchy._ Booth thought to himself before answering her. "Well this is your kind of body Bones, as in it's not in a coffin."

"Oh okay, well let's go then." Brennan waved a hand off in the general vicinity unsure of where to go. Booth took the hint as she knew he would and walking beside her he led her to the crypt in question in silence.

"So..." Booth started after a minute or two of the uncomfortable silence, he struggled to find something to ask her about. He knew she had had a date last night but despite dating himself he really didn't want to hear about that.

"How was your night with Ashley?" Temperance asked, not that she wanted to know it was just polite to ask. At least that's what Angela had always informed her whenever she had failed to ask about one of her dates.

"It was great, she's really amazing." Booth said a goofy grin gracing his features as he thought of Ashley. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her, it's just that as nice as she was there was something missing he couldn't quite put his finger on. "How was your date with Hacker?" He asked politely, grinding his teeth slightly at the thought. Even though she had shot him down at point blank range for some ridiculous reason he wasn't sure he understood, he still cared enough to want her to be happy even if it was with someone else. He had kind of hoped though that a year away would quell her attraction to his boss, he would rather she date Sweets, not that the kid could handle a woman like Temperance Brennan.

"It was good, we had intercourse. He is very adept-" Brennan began to say before being interrupted.

"Bones there are some things I do not ever need to hear about my boss and where this conversation is going is one of them!" Booth exclaimed as he childishly put his hands over his ears. Temperance just chuckled wondering when Booth would get over his aversion to all talk sexual, after all sex was a natural part of life and judging by his form he would be even more adept in the bedroom than Andrew and may even be good at the move on the now infamous page 187 of her book.

"You do realise sex is a natural part of life don't you Booth, I mean if you wanted to discuss your sex life with Ashley you could." Brennan stated bluntly, although she winced mentally at the thought. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing if she was asked.

"I will not discuss my sex life with anyone Bones, especially you. Look we have arrived at our destination isn't that fantastic." Booth said with mock joy as he raised the crime scene tape surrounding the crypt to allow Brennan to pass through first, and flashing his badge at the officer there before following her. Without saying a word Brennan walked right past the assembled group of people and headed directly for the stone plinth in the centre of the crypt.

"I'm sorry ma'am but you can't be in here, this is a crime scene." A young officer said moving over to block Brennan's forward movement.

"Excuse me?" Brennan responded testily.

"This is a crime scene, you need to leave." The officer repeated slowly, implying with his tone that Brennan was a little slow on the uptake.

"Okay firstly do _not_ talk to me as though I am stupid, I have an IQ you could only dream of as well as multiple doctorates. Secondly remove yourself from my path or I will do it for you." Temperance copied the officer's tone of voice perfectly. At that point Booth walked up behind Brennan and planted himself at her back, resting a calming hand on her lower back.

"Is there a problem here?" He directed his question to his partner whilst looking towards the officer, who appeared to suddenly get very nervous.

"This officer won't let me past to see the remains, which are probably being compromised."

"The remains will be fine Bones, I promise. Now Officer-" Booth began, pausing to allow the officer to fill in his name.

"Darby."

"Right, well Officer Darby I am Special Agent Booth from the FBI and this is my partner Dr Temperance Brennan. We were called in after the discovery of the remains earlier today, so it would be appropriate to allow my partner past now because, well I believe her threat to be real." With that statement Officer Darby blanched and nodded before stepping to one side and allowing the pair to pass. Brennan walked straight to the plinth, snapping on a pair of gloves from her bag as she moved.

"So Bones, what have we got?" Booth asked flipping open his notebook, after he had allowed her to look at the remains in silence for a few minutes.

"From the shape of the skull and pelvis I would say female, between 17 and 25 years of age due to third molar eruption on the lower mandible. I would say that either the remains are of historical value or they have been cleaned to remove any remaining flesh before being placed here, making a time of death hard to pinpoint at the moment. I won't know until we get to the lab." Temperance replied placing the ivory coloured skull back into position on the stone plinth. "I'll need these remains sent back to the Jeffersonian, as well as any evidence from the surrounding area." Brennan continued as she removed her gloves, balling them up and throwing them back into her bag she glanced over at Booth.

"Officer Darby who found the remains?" Booth asked sharply, causing the young man to jump as though he had been shouted at.

"Erm...the groundskeeper guy. He was making his rounds ensuring all the crypts were still locked up when he noticed the door was open. He pushed it open to remove whoever was inside thinking it was probably kids or a homeless person and he found this." The officer indicated the body lying on the plinth.

"And where is the groundskeeper now?" Booth asked, taking note of what Officer Darby had said.

"I think he went to get some air, apparently this is the first body he has ever seen." With that Booth nodded at the officer and glanced over at his partner who was now staring avidly at the remains.

"What is it Bones?" He asked as he moved over to stand at her shoulder, hoping to see what she did. He came up blank when all he saw was a skeleton arranged on a stone plinth.

"Every single bone is in its correct anatomical position Booth."

"And that's important how?"

"Would you be able to put all the bones in the right position somewhere away from the murder site after all of the flesh has been cleaned off?" Temperance asked, turning her whole body to face Booth.

"Erm...well no not without your help."

"Exactly, so clearly the murderer has a grasp of skeletal anatomy."

"Stepping into Sweet's shoes there Bones." Booth joked, jostling his partner with his shoulder.

"No, I was stating a fact based on the evidence right in front of me," Brennan explained as if pointing out the obvious. Booth smiled and shook his head slightly before speaking.

"Let's go find the groundskeeper Bones, see if he can shed any light on a time frame for the placement of our bony friend." He turned to the officer and asked him to point out the groundskeeper to the pair.

* * *

**I know many of you may not like the idea of Brennan and Hacker and from something I have read earlier this week I actually can't imagine it happening. However for the purposes of this story it worked to have Brennan running around with someone else, although I can promise it won't be for long.**

**In this story Brennan has changed slightly, not too much but enough it will become clear why later on in the story.**

**Until next week, I hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter, it was supposed to be up over the weekend but I was busy.**

**

* * *

**

Simon Ransom was a fifty two year old man; he was still as strong as he had been ten years ago with a full head of light brown hair which was greying at the temples. He had been the groundskeeper at The Hastings Cemetery for over twenty years and he had never, ever seen anything like that. He had come on duty at around six and started making his rounds straight away, he always checked every crypt door because he knew kids liked to break them open from time to time, usually on Halloween, to drink and do drugs in there. On more than one occasion he had had to clean out a crypt and replace the lock on the door, he always informed the family which owned the crypt which had been used and they were thankful for his actions. He never minded doing his job, the cemetery was peaceful, and he could wander around at his own pace doing what needed to be done, up until now that peace been unbroken. He had been halfway through checking the crypts when he had caught sight of the door slightly ajar on the one which was now surrounded by police and weird bystanders. Anyway he had entered the crypt expecting to find the usual beer bottles and cigarettes littering the floor, he had received a shock however when he saw the skeleton laying on the plinth in the centre.

"That's when I called you people in. So it's definitely real then, not a prank?" He asked, his light blue eyes flashing with panic as he clung desperately to his final hope. It was getting close to Halloween after all, maybe the kids decided to start early this year.

"I'm afraid it isn't a prank Mr Ransom. Did you notice anything strange about the crypt other than the open door?" Special Agent Booth questioned him as he made notes in his pad. His partner Dr Temperance Brennan, his wife's favourite author, just looked between the pair keeping quiet the entire time allowing her partner to take the lead.

"Nope, like I said I saw the door was ajar, went in and saw that thing, then left to call the police." He repeated, hoping beyond hell that he wasn't a suspect.

"Have you seen anybody hanging around? What I mean is not visiting a grave just wandering around?" Booth asked as he looked in Simon's eyes.

"No, everyone that visits usually just, you know, leaves flowers on a grave, maybe stays ten minutes or so and leaves." Simon answered panicking that he was going to get chewed out for not paying enough attention to the people who came to visit loved ones. It's not like that's even his job, he watched as the agent nodded in understanding as he made a series of notes in his pad.

"Mr Ransom could I ask you a question?" Dr Brennan asked suddenly. Simon just nodded as he turned his gaze to her; he noticed that her partner also turned his gaze to her looking slightly anxious as to what she was going to ask. "Do you have any knowledge of skeletal anatomy?"

"Erm, no I dropped out of high school when I was sixteen. I was a pretty messed up kid I'm not going to deny it I stole cars, did drugs you name it. Then I met my wife and well everything fell into place, so believe me when I say that my knowledge of any kind of biology is basic at best." Simon rambled, trying his hardest not to panic at the fact that he appeared to be a suspect in this case.

"Okay, well thank you for your help Mr Ransom. If we have any further questions we'll be in touch, here's my card in case you remember anything." Agent Booth said as he handed over a business card with his name, job and office phone number on it. "I suggest you go home Mr Ransom, you have had a shock. I can get one of the officers to give you a lift if you would like?" He asked with genuine concern at the man's pale complexion. During the entire conversation he had been shaking, his eyes darting all over the shop, if Booth hadn't known better he would say the guy knew more than he was letting on. However he did know better and he knew that the poor man in front of him had hoped to never see anything like he had this morning, which was why he had told him to go home.

"It's alright, I phoned my wife she is going to come over and drive me home. I'll just go and sit down I think." Simon mumbled before he swayed on the spot and hit the floor in a dead faint. Brennan and Booth both instantly fell to their knees beside the man checking his pulse to make sure he was okay.

"I think he just fainted, we should get someone to move him." Brennan said calmly to Booth who stood and waved over a couple of the local officers.

"Could you call for an ambulance, I want this gentleman checked over before we send him home." Booth spoke to the oldest of the men, authority lacing his tone. Once he had finished he tapped Brennan on her shoulder causing her to rise from her position next to the prone man, the younger of the two officers took her position. The partners walked away from the two officers not talking until they had left the area around the crypt.

"You don't think he had anything to do with it do you?" Brennan asked as Booth walked her to her Toyota.

"No, my gut says he is innocent. That and the fact that he passed out at the idea of it, you know it just doesn't scream murderer to me." Booth answered, smiling slightly.

"We don't know its murder yet Booth; I didn't get that far in my analysis. For all we know the body could be of someone who died naturally years ago or committed suicide and was placed in the crypt as a sign of respect." Brennan argued as they reached her car. Turning her back to him she opened her door and threw her bag onto the back seat before positioning herself in the car.

"You don't believe that Bones, you think it was murder just like my gut knows it was murder." Booth said as he leant on the open door, smiling down at his partner as she looked up at him exasperation clear on her face.

"Booth I don't know anything about this case yet, other than the fact that skeletal remains were found in a crypt they didn't belong in. I'm heading to the Jeffersonian; I'll call you when I have something." Temperance said placing her hand on the handle of her car door she pulled it out from underneath her partner who nearly fell to the ground. He stood stock still as he watched her drive away, wondering what in hell it was he was supposed to have said or done which had pissed her off so much.

With a heavy sigh and many curses about Sweets and his stupid book he turned and took in the area around him. The cemetery was for the most part beautiful, considering the fact that it was a cemetery; it had woods off to one side which blocked the view of the road. All of the graves were well tended, the grass kept short clearly Simon Ransom was doing his job properly. He tried to get a feel for the person who had left the body but could get nothing other than the fact that they were obviously disturbed. He walked through the damp grass towards the scene cursing the fact that his new leather shoes were now covered in water. When he reached the entrance to the crypt he looked around for an FBI tech, finding one on his knees by the door he walked over to him.

"What have you found so far?" Booth asked, pulling out his pad to make a note of anything pertinent.

"The lock was picked. After that we have nothing Agent Booth," the tech answered as he stood from his position and met the agent's eyes.

"What do you mean you have nothing, do you need more time?" Booth asked incredulously.

"No, that's one thing we don't need. The scene is clean; there are no fingerprints, footprints, we have absolutely nothing here which could help us catch the guy who did this." Booth sighed loudly as the tech explained what he had meant by his statement. He made a note of what the tech had said before he turned to the plinth where the body was still positioned. He walked over to it and wandered around it slowly, once he had circuited it twice he called out to the tech he had spoken to before.

"Yes Agent Booth." The man asked as he walked over to the plinth.

"Can you get the remains sent over to the Jeffersonian ASAP, also send over any soil samples and pictures you have." The man nodded before turning and walking over to one of his colleagues to relay the message. Booth left the team to do their jobs and walked out of the crypt heading back to his car, he barely acknowledged the crowd surrounding the scene so he never noticed that one of the spectators wasn't watching the action in front of them, they were watching him as he headed toward his car.

_The game has started Agent Booth, you and your pretty little Anthropologist had better watch out._ The individual thought to themselves as the FBI agent drove away in the direction of downtown DC. When Booth had driven out of sight the figure returned their gaze to the scene, watching as two FBI techs carried boxes into the crypt to remove their handy work. Smiling they lowered their head, thrust their hands into their jacket pocket and walked away towards the entrance. Anyone watching would just think that the individual had gotten bored, in fact the person was anything but bored but they did however have somewhere they needed to be right now.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, Angela is in the next chapter and I must say I did throughly enjoy writing that one XD**

**I found out recently that Booth's girlfriend is now called Hannah, when I started this she was called Ashley and as I love the name Ashley it is staying, but in the series she will be Hannah. I hope that isn't too confusing for people, it did annoy me and I spent time contemplating changing her name for ease.**

**Until Saturday, which will happen this week.**


	4. Chapter 3

**I don't own any of the character unfortunately.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter it was actually my favourite so far to write. Also for the purposes of this story we have the lab we all know and love, not whatever lab we have in the return. I apologize if anyone hasn't seen the preview shown on Fox you should YouTube it!**

**

* * *

**

Dr Temperance Brennan arrived at the Jeffersonian institution approximately thirty minutes after leaving Booth at the cemetery on the outskirts of DC. She had left somewhat annoyed at Booth's apparent disregard of her need to conduct an examination of the remains before she made a decision on whether it was murder or not. She pulled her car into her reserved spot close to the elevator which would take her up to the floor containing the medico-legal lab where she worked. Since the gravedigger cases both her and Hodgins had been assigned parking spaces closer to the elevator at Cam's insistence, they rarely used them but they were always kept empty just in case. Climbing out of her Toyota, Brennan grabbed her bag from the back seat before she headed to the elevator. Pushing the button she thought about the plot line for her next book; she had to get the first five chapters to her editor in a month and she had a serious case of writers block on what exactly should happen. Temperance was still contemplating her novel when the elevator arrived, entering she pushed the button for the lab's floor and turned her intensely focused gaze to the floor. Just as the doors were closing a hand shot forward and stopped them causing them to open and allow someone else to enter the car, Brennan's head shot up to see who was entering.

"Hey Sweets," she greeted the young psychologist. Although she disregarded psychology as a science, it was after all at best guess work, she did respect Sweets as a person and he had proven himself to be quite good at his job, despite her reservations.

"Good morning Dr Brennan," Dr Lance Sweets returned the greeting, smiling across at the anthropologist, before he turned to stare at the door.

"How come you are here so early?" Brennan asked as she glanced at her watch taking note that it was actually not that early.

"I need to speak to Dr Saroyan. How are you?"

"I'm okay, Booth called me this morning. There was a body found at The Hastings Cemetery just outside DC, I've just come from there."

"Will you require a psych profile?" Lance questioned as he continued to look intently at the elevator doors. He would never admit it to anyone but Dr Brennan not only intimidated him intellectually, making him feel inferior to her, she also intimidated him physically. He knew for a fact that she could force a man twice her size to his knees with a few well placed hits, ergo he accepted that for her to take him down, it would probably take all of about ten seconds.

"I don't know; Booth will be in touch if we do." Temperance answered as the elevator pinged indicating they had arrived at the floor.

"After you Dr Brennan," Sweets said somewhat gallantly indicating with a wave of his arm that Brennan should precede him out of the elevator. He heard her mumble her thanks as he watched her walk away, she may be nearly ten years his senior but he could appreciate the view. Once he had kicked himself for the thought he rushed to catch up with Dr Brennan as she reached the door to the lab. They walked through the doors together as they slid open and at once Angela Montenegro rushed down from the platform in the centre and headed directly for the pairing.

"Hey sweetie, I need to talk to you. Hi Sweets, Cam told me to tell you she's in her office." Angela said as she grabbed her friend by the hand and dragged her off towards her office, leaving Sweets dumbfounded as he watched them leave. He smiled as he thought of the work Hodgins had in his future now that he was married to Angela; he hoped they would stay together for a long time. With that he turned and headed towards the autopsy suite and Dr Camille Saroyan.

* * *

"Ange, what's wrong?" Temperance asked her friend as she was propelled into her office. Angela stopped and closed the door before turning to her friend.

"You might want to sit down," she said pointing at the couch. Brennan moved over to it and sat down placing her canvas shoulder bag on the coffee table in front of it. "Okay I don't know how to say this." Angela began as she paced around Brennan's office.

"Ange is it possible you could sit down?"

"No I'm too excited to sit down."

"What are you so excited about, that it has affected your ability to sit down?"

"Tempe, I'm...I'm pregnant." Angela said quietly, so quietly that at first Brennan was sure she had misheard.

"You're pregnant?" She asked, wanting to clarify the words. Angela nodded tears rolling down her cheeks as she smiled happily. Brennan didn't speak as she stood up and walked over to her friend and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm so happy for you, but why are you crying?" She asked as Angela returned the hug.

"I'm happy that's all." Angela broke the hug; she knew how much it cost Brennan to break her no personal space violations and she didn't want it to become uncomfortable. Despite Booth's good work getting her to open up there were still some things her friend was uncomfortable with, her feelings for aforementioned FBI agent being one of them.

"Does Jack know?" Brennan asked as she pulled her friend to the couch so she could sit down.

"Yes, we only found out this morning. You're the first person I have told."

"How far along are you?"

"About two months, but we won't know for sure until my doctor's appointment next week." One of Angela's hands moved subconsciously to rest upon her stomach where a life was growing inside of her. She knew that her baby was hardly bigger than a tadpole but she was sure she could sense it inside of her.

"You will make a great mom Ange." Brennan smiled across at her friend, even as she thought about how much she would actually love to find herself pregnant. Yes her reasons may be less romantic than Angela's but hers were definitely more practical. She needed a progeny, no it was more than that; she wanted a progeny more than she had ever wanted anything, including her doctorates.

"So will you one day; I was wondering one thing though but I don't want to ask you in case you say no."

"Just ask Ange," Brennan watched as Angela took a deep breath and released it heavily before speaking.

"I want you to be godmother." She stated simply meeting her friends blue eyes; she and Hodgins had discussed it when they had discussed children during their stint in Paris. They had settled on Brennan and Booth, after all who would be better godparents than a genius anthropologist and an army trained sniper who was also an FBI agent. It was still her fervent hope that one day Brennan would come to acknowledge how she felt about Booth and they would go off into the sunset together. Since everyone had returned from their separate excursions things had been different, maybe it was because they had changed over the time or because Booth was seeing that war reporter but there was definitely something different within the partner's dynamic.

"What would it entail exactly?" Brennan asked keeping her voice steadily calm as she spoke.

"You stand next to us when we baptise our child, make a couple of declarations and aid in the child's development. Also if something were to happen to me and Hodgins you would of course be first choice to raise our baby." Angela explained, watching as her friend absorbed everything she said.

"In that case, it would be a great honour to be your child's godparent," Temperance smiled brightly across at Angela as she answered. She may not be totally behind the whole concept but it was clearly very important to her friend and after the pig incident, Brennan had no intention of doing anything to risk her friendship to Angela. That falling out had made both of them realise how much they actually relied on the other despite their many differences.

"Sweetie, you are the best friend a girl could ever have." Angela smiled back as she leaned over and hugged Brennan again. "What's the deal with you and Booth?" She asked as they pulled away from each other.

"I don't know what you mean." Brennan answered as she stood from the couch, grabbed her bag from the coffee table and walked purposefully over to her desk. She refused to meet Angela's gaze until she had sat down and started up her computer. "Don't look at me like that Ange, there is nothing going on between me and Booth."

"There is something honey, ever since we got back together, you and Booth have been off."

"What do you mean by off?"

"I can't explain it; you're just off is all. At first I thought it was because of the time apart, then there was his girlfriend but now I just don't know." Angela said as she moved from her position on the couch and seated herself in the chair opposite Temperance. She stared at her friend, refusing to back down from the contest they were currently engaged in. Angela was determined that before her baby was born its two godparents would be a couple.

"It's nothing Ange. We have a body coming in; I will need a facial reconstruction and an id as soon as possible for Booth." Temperance said effectively dismissing Angela as she turned back to her screen and opened a word document to type up ideas for her novel.

"Okay sweetie, but don't think I won't find out, because I will." Angela said as she stood and walked out of her friend's office. She headed straight towards her husband's work station to tell him the good news regarding Brennan's answer.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this one, I was originally going to have Angela heavily pregnant, as in pregnant since from her return from Paris but this worked better within the story.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Another weekend and another chapter, I want to thank those of you who have reviewed or favorited/alerted this story. I am pleased people seem to be enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it.**

**As usual I own no-one and nothing but how I wish I did.**

**

* * *

**

Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian fifteen minutes after Dr Brennan had, he unlike her did not have the pleasure of a reserved parking space so he spent five minutes circling the complex looking for a space. It was just one of the many reasons why he hated the stupid, sterile lab where some of his favourite people worked, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. He slipped into the first space he found and actually smiled to himself when he noticed how close he had managed to park to the elevator. Jumping out of his car he all but ran to the elevator tapping his left foot and flicking his poker chip impatiently as he waited for it to arrive, he really wanted to talk to his partner and discover what exactly he was supposed to have done now. He stepped into the car as soon as the doors opened and punched the button for the lab floor. As the doors slid closed he felt a sense of claustrophobia, he had never suffered with it before so it surprised him now when he felt as though he couldn't breathe. He pulled at his tie slightly to loosen it and once the doors opened he walked out breathing a sigh of relief as he did so.

Entering the lab space he immediately took note of his surroundings, he noticed that Angela was leaning over Hodgins talking low in his ear as he did something on his computer; he also noted that Cam was nowhere to be seen. Assuming she was in her office he turned in the direction of his partner's office and headed towards it walking with a clear purpose. He felt eyes on him as he passed by Angela and Hodgins but he ignored them and continued on his trajectory.

"Sure, tonight would be fine." He heard his partner say quietly as he reached her door and wondered who she was speaking to.

"Okay, not problem. Bye Andrew," he shook his head at the words. _Of course it's Hacker who else would it be?_ He thought to himself as he knocked lightly on her door jamb. He didn't usually knock but after this morning he thought it best to be cautious.

"Hey Bones," He greeted as she put her phone back into the cradle.

"Booth, have the remains arrived?" Temperance asked as she spun her chair to face Booth as he stood awkwardly in her door.

"Not yet, they should be here in a minute though. I just wanted to make sure that we were...you know...good."

"Of course we are," Brennan answered his non-question. She even flashed a smile at him but he noticed the slight tension which accompanied the movement, almost as if she really didn't want to smile. Temperance had considered her reaction to Booth's words earlier and decided that although it had annoyed her, her reaction may have been somewhat uncalled for.

"Alright...well the techs finished at the site." He said as he walked into her office and sat on the chair Angela had vacated not ten minutes before. He knew she had lied to him but didn't want to cause an argument by calling her on it. Brennan sat stock still as she watched Booth move with a grace he wasn't even aware he had, she took note of each muscle movement through the fabric of his suit and found herself enjoying the view.

"What did they find?"

"Nothing," Booth answered the question. Temperance took note of the angry tone to his voice and decided to tread carefully.

"What do you mean they found nothing? There has to have been something to find, no-one leaves a crime scene completely clean." Brennan said as she wrinkled her brow in confusion, leaning back in her chair.

"Well this guy did. There was nothing, not a fingerprint or footprint; hell there wasn't even a stray hair." Booth sighed as he watched his partner carefully, trying to determine what she was thinking.

"So someone with knowledge of skeletal anatomy and forensics placed a body inside a crypt at a cemetery. It seems an odd thing to do, especially as there was no guarantee that the body would be discovered."

"You got that straight Bones; I need you to find me something on that body that I can work with."

"I will Booth; I am very good at my job you know." Brennan responded lifting her lips in her famous half smile.

"I know Bones is it okay if I hang around until then? I know you said you would call me but if I go back to the office I will have to do paperwork." Booth pleaded with his partner, he didn't add that he would also have to face his boss who was possibly at this minute on a high from his night with Temperance.

"Sure, just don't get in the way." Brennan said just as a second quiet knock came from the door. The partners both span their eyes away from each other to look at their unwanted intruder.

"Mr Nigel-Murray, I see your rotation has come back around." Brennan said bluntly and without a trace of emotion.

"Yes Dr Brennan, the remains have arrived." He replied waiting anxiously for Dr Brennan to acknowledge his words before he turned away. He refused to look at Agent Booth, who was staring at him with a somewhat amused expression on his face. Deep down Vincent knew that when the decision finally came about who would get to be Dr Brennan's permanent assistant the FBI agent would have a big part in the choice. He hoped that his deference of the man would work in his favour when the time came.

When the young man walked away the twosome returned their gazes to each other and smiled shaking their heads. Each knew what the other was thinking without them having to say anything; Brennan stood from her seat, pulled her lab coat off the back of it and slid her arms into it.

"Are you coming?" She asked her partner, he nodded and stood from his seat. Straightening out his jacket and tie he followed his partner to the platform.

"Hey Booth," Dr Jack Hodgins called out to him as he walked to the table containing the remains discovered at the crypt.

"Hodgins, Ange looking good." He smirked at the artist who laughed in return. She knew Booth was a big flirt but essentially harmless, he was too in love with Brennan even if he was with Ashleigh.

"Same to you FBI man," Angela winked as she walked over to her friend who was snapping on a pair of latex gloves. "Can I take the skull?" She asked leaning towards Brennan.

"Yes, I won't require it straight away." Temperance answered lifting the skull gently onto a tray for Angela to carry off to her office to do a reconstruction. With that Temperance turned to Hodgins and indicated with her head the sample bags which were in a box next to her.

"I need you to analyse these samples and see if you can find anything. The FBI techs found nothing." She said as Hodgins grabbed a hold of the box.

"Will do Dr Brennan," he smiled at her as he headed to his work station. He paused as he reached the agent leaning against the railing watching the exchanges with an amused expression. "Booth can I have a word later on?" He asked quietly and somewhat nervously because he didn't want Booth to shoot him before he got a chance to see his child. He was still in a state of shock that Angela was pregnant with his child; it wasn't the first time she had found herself so but unfortunately she had suffered a miscarriage whilst they were Paris.

"Sure, what's it about?" Booth asked as he removed his gaze from his partner who was now leaning over the table examining the remains and talking in a low voice to Mr Nigel-Murray.

"Nothing bad, I just want to ask you something." Hodgins said smiling brightly before walking off to his station, leaving a thoroughly confused Booth stood on the platform.

* * *

The platform remained quiet for about three hours as Dr Brennan and Vincent worked diligently, Cam had come out once to see if she was required before returning to her office to finish paperwork; Booth had long since given up his position and removed himself to Brennan's office. So it was no surprise to Brennan when she walked into her office and found him stretched out on her couch, fast asleep. She moved to wake him up; after all he would hurt his back if he stayed there. Just as she moved to lean over the back of the couch and shake him awake he moved so that he was facing her, her hand stopped it movement as she took in the structure of her friend and partners face.

Temperance sighed heavily as she remembered how many times during their seven month break she had thought about Booth. If she remembered correctly and she was sure she did, she had thought about him every day; she had all but accepted that maybe Booth had a point about them trying, when they met back up and she found out he had met someone else. It had hurt her more than she thought it would, Booth had introduced her to Ashleigh when she followed him back to DC and Brennan couldn't deny that she was pretty, intelligent and perfect for Booth. It annoyed her, however irrational it may be, that she found herself actually unable to dislike the woman. She had disliked Camille until she had stopped sleeping with Booth, she had always been indifferent regarding Rebecca and she had hated Tessa and Katherine. She never understood why she had such irrational reactions to the women in Booth's life; he was a virile, charming, well structured man and who wouldn't want to be with him but he was her best friend nothing more.

At least that had been her thinking until she had left for the Maluku islands with a certain Daisy Wick, only to find out that what they had gone there to dig for was nowhere to be found. In her opinion it had been a complete waste of seven months of her life and she had been pleased when Caroline had been in touch to say that she had to return immediately. Presently she had acknowledged that she felt something for Booth, more than the attraction she had long ago accepted, but he was with someone else and she refused to be one of those women. Which was why she had gone out with Andrew Hacker and agreed to do so again, he wasn't as handsome as Booth but he was charming and made her laugh.

"Booth, you need to wake up." Brennan said after five minutes of staring at her partner, she shook him gently and he jerked awake almost hitting Temperance with his head as he sat up.

"Bones, sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep. Are you done with your examination?" He asked rubbing his eyes and swinging his legs off the couch leaving room for her to sit down.

"Mr Nigel-Murray is still looking but I can tell you now that there is no cause of death visible on the bones."

"So she wasn't shot, stabbed or hit with anything."

"That would be correct, and without any soft tissue for Cam to analyse I am at a loss. We can't provide evidence of whether she was poisoned or died of natural circumstances." Brennan answered as she sat on the couch next to Booth.

"Okay so what do you know?" Booth asked pulling out his notebook to take note of what Brennan had just said.

"Well, she has stress fractures on her metatarsals; she broke her left arm approximately two years ago and received a distal radial stress fracture to her right wrist a year later." Booth took note of all of this silently before he spoke again.

"What does that mean? Was she abused?" Temperance heard the tension in his voice as he said the words, for obvious reasons abuse cases hit him harder than others. The same way that foster kid cases hit her harder than others. She placed a hand on his arm as the muscles clenched in his jaw, followed by his arm as his hand curled into a fist.

"No, I would say she was a probably a ballet dancer, gymnast or a cheerleader maybe all three. These are all typical injuries for those disciplines." She explained quietly, Booth relaxed at both her words and her touch letting go of the breath he had held in. He knew his reaction was stupid but after what he had suffered at his father's hands he hated the idea of other people suffering the same thing.

"Athletic, someone has to be missing her Bones." He stated sadly as he slid his notebook back into his jacket pocket. He had opened his mouth to speak when Angela walked into the office.

"Guys, I have a face for you." She said stoically, Booth immediately stood forgetting that Brennan had her hand on his arm. She moved it quickly back to her side but not before Angela raised an eyebrow at the movement and walked towards her office. The partners followed her and stood in front of her monitor looking at the face of the girl currently lying out on a cold steel table, surrounded by people she had never met.

* * *

**I hope you liked the chapter, there will be movements in the case now I promise I just wanted to build up to the id.**

**The next one will be up next weekend when we have to wait less than a week for the Season Premiere of our favorite show XD**


End file.
